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Pence grew up with her parents and siblings in Arlington County, Virginia.[7] Her father Mike encouraged her to be a writer and "cherished" a biography she wrote of him when she was 7.[8] Her mother Karen said that she was a storyteller since she could talk.[9]:1 Pence described her family as "very, very close" and said that "[they] talk about everything together".[7] She said that she and her siblings could choose how involved in politics they would be;[7] Pence told Ben Shapiro in an interview in 2018 that as kids they could be included in an event only if they wanted to.[10] She said that they have political debates in their house and on the phone.[9]:1[11]:31

Pence did film production internships while in college.[7] In 2013, she interned at WFYI, a public broadcasting station in central Indiana, working in the television production department.[14] Pence was the associate producer and co-writer of the 2013 documentary film Fleeced: Speaking Out Against Senior Financial Abuse, which highlights "the stories of seniors who have been scammed by financial predators".[14] The film won a 2014 Emmy award for the Lower Great Lakes region.[14] Pence has since worked on several documentary and short film projects.[14] She said in 2016 that she "[wanted] to go into the creative side of film production, looking at stories and books and scripts and really life stories and taking those to the screen".[7] Pence's biography for the documentary film For the Records states, "She hopes to pursue a career in writing for film and documentaries after college."[14]

Pence considers herself a writer and has published poems, short stories and articles.[6] In 2014, she wrote an article for Thought Catalog about her religious beliefs.[6][15] In 2015, Pence wrote a column for DePaul University's The DePaulia about her studying abroad at Oxford University.[15] In it, she talks about "finding a running path and learning to navigate the pubs".[15] Also in 2015, Pence published several poems for the Oxford blog Seven Voices and fiction pieces for The Isis Magazine, an independent UK student magazine.[15] She wrote an essay for Glamour that was released Tuesday ahead of her father's prime time debate as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate of the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign.[8] In the essay, Pence wrote about the lessons she had learned from her father.[16] She described her lifestyle changes after her father became Trump's running mate in July, writing, "I went from taking public transit in Chicago to riding in a presidential motorcade in the span of just a few months."[8]

Early August 2016, Pence started travelling around the U.S. with her father on his campaign trail, which included the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.[7] Pence's recent graduation gave her time to travel the country and she joked that her role on the campaign trail was to "babysit her parents".[17][18] Charlotte said that she was the only one of her siblings to be home at the time of the nomination.[19]:1 Pence described herself politically as "more of a moderate or independent" and said that she does not always agree with the policies of her father and Trump, adding "I think I have views that go across the board", which she says has been encouraged by her parents.[6][7] In 2018, Pence said that her father tells her, regarding the public criticism and protests against him, "That's what freedom looks like."[20][11]:29

Since the inauguration, Pence helped provide a "support system for her parents", without taking official roles, while working full-time in Washington, D.C. at a film production company.[17] In September 2017, Pence started an agent training program at the United Talent Agency.[12]

In 2013, Pence needed a rabbit for a short film project as a freshman at DePaul, and she bought a black and white rabbit from Craigslist.[21][22][23] Pence named the rabbit 'Marlon Bundo' after Marlon Brando, as Pence's friend noticed the similarity between Brando's phrase "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" from The Godfather and the rabbit's seller's response "Make me an offer" to a message about the price.[23][24] Speaking to The Chicago Tribune she recalled: "We drove out to the suburbs, my friends and I, and we picked him up. I think he was like $20. He was in the short film, and I just kept him after that."[23] Bundo lived with Pence throughout college for four years, and continued to live with the Pences at Number One Observatory Circle afterwards.[22][9]:2 Pence created an Instagram account for Bundo "right after [her] dad was inaugurated [Vice President]", "not knowing if anybody would follow it".[23] Pence and her mother thought about creating a children's book, following Bundo's popularity on Instagram and because Karen is a watercolor painter.[22] Pence told The Denver Post that she "really [likes] children's literature and middle-grade fiction" and had "always wanted to be a writer".[22] Pence told Andrew Klavan in a 2018 interview that she "could also" write non-fiction and "for adults".[11]:35

I think imitation is the most sincere form of flattery in a way. But in all seriousness, his book is contributing to charities that I think we can all get behind. We have two books that are giving to charities that are both about bunnies, so I'm all for it, really.[26][30]